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Biomolecules from Serratia sp. CS1 indigenous to Ethiopian natural alkaline lakes: biosurfactant characteristics and assessment of compatibility in a laundry detergent

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Abstract

In this study, the biosurfactants (Bio-SFs) producing bacteria are screened from the selected alkaline lake of Ethiopia, and the potential bacterial strain and their produced Bio-SFs are further characterized. In an initial screening, 25 bacterial isolates were isolated, and among those, the bacterial isolate assigned as CS1 was identified as the most potent producer of Bio-SFs using a subsequent characterization process. The CS1 strain was identified as Serratia sp. via biochemical and molecular methods. An emulsion index (E24) of 69.06 ± 0.11% was obtained for CS1 after 5 days of incubation time at 30 °C. The CS1-extracted Bio-SFs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and it indicated that the type of biosurfactant produced was a glycolipid. The stability of the crude Bio-SFs was characterized, and the optimal conditions were found to be 80 °C, pH 8, and 3% NaCl, respectively. The extracted Bio-SFs were compatible with tested commercial detergents, and its efficiency increased from 12.2 ± 0.1% to 67.1 ± 0.17% and 70.43 ± 0.11% when combined with commercially available detergent brands in Ethiopia such as Taza and Largo, respectively. This study suggests that the isolated S. marcescens CS1 strain has the potential to produce Bio-SFs that are viable competence to replace the use of synthetic chemicals in the production of commercial detergents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Addis Ababa University and Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Ethiopia, for providing a facility for experimental analysis.

Funding

This work is supported by the funding of the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Ethiopia, under the scheme of post-graduate student research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioprocess and Biotechnology Center of Excellence, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 16417, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Kidist Mulugeta, Mesfin Tafesse, Gessesse Kebede, Getachew Gemechu & Masi Chandran

  2. Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 16417, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Kidist Mulugeta, Mesfin Tafesse, Gessesse Kebede, Getachew Gemechu & Masi Chandran

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Humanities, SRM Institute of Science and Technology - Ramapuram Campus, Chennai, 600089, Tamil Nadu, India

    Murugesan Kamaraj

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  1. Kidist Mulugeta
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Kidist Mulugeta: Formal analysis, methodology, writing—original draft preparation, funding acquisition. Murugesan Kamaraj: Supervision, writing—review and editing, project administration. Mesfin Tafesse: Project administration, resources, supervision. Gessesse Kebede: Conceptualization, project administration. Getachew Gemechu: Investigation, formal analysis. Masi Chandran: Validation, visualization. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Mulugeta, K., Kamaraj, M., Tafesse, M. et al. Biomolecules from Serratia sp. CS1 indigenous to Ethiopian natural alkaline lakes: biosurfactant characteristics and assessment of compatibility in a laundry detergent. Environ Monit Assess 194, 873 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10533-7

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